LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIKT  OF 


/  r*.* 


Received 
Accession  No.    '7  fr  3  <ZLO    •    Class  No. 


ANDREW  C,  COMSTOCK. 


"  tbis  punean 

"  1$atb  born?  bjs  faculties  so  meek,  b.£ti|j  been 
So  rlear  in  bis  great  office,  that  jm  birtues 
K'lill  pleab  liht  angels,  trumpet-tongu'b." 


PROCEEDINGS 


SM-4TB  4ND  ASSEMBLY 


-State  of 


IN  RELATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OK 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR, 


Httl.U    AT  THE 


CAPITOL,  AF-WII.  2O,  1HBT. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


ALBANY: 

WEED,   PARSONS  AND  COMPANY, 

1887. 


7  fr  3 


. 


PROCEEDINGS 


Legislature  0f  the  State  0f  New  York 


ON    T1IH    DEATH    OK 


-$  rcjsidnrt 


IN  SENATE: 

FEBRUARY  4,  1887. 

Mr.  SMITH  offered  the  following  : 

WHERKAS,  Since  the  last  annual  session  of  the  Legislature, 
the  country  has  been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of 
one  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of  this  State,  ex-President 
CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  and  it  is  fitting  that  the  Legislature 
should  take  measures  for  giving  suitable  expression  to  the 
sentiments  of  respect  and  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by 
the  people  of  this  Commonwealth  ;  therefore, 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a  joint  committee, 
consisting  of  three  Senators  and  five  Members  of  Assembly,  be 
appointed  by  the  presiding  officers,  respectively,  of  the  two 


Houses,  with  instructions  to  perfect  and  supervise  arrange 
ments  for  such  a  memorial  service  of  the  Legislature  as  will 
properly  testify  of  the  personal  virtues  and  commemorate 
the  distinguished  public  services  of  the  deceased. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  PRESIDENT  put  the 
question  whether  the  Senate  would  agree  to  said 
resolution,  and  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

The  PRESIDENT  appointed  as  such  committee, 
on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  Messrs.  SMITH,  WALKER 
and  PARKER. 

IN  ASSEMBLY- 

FEBRUARY   7,  1887. 

The  Senate  sent  for  concurence  a  resolution  in 
the  words  following  : 

AVHERKAS,  Since  the  last  annual  session  of  the  Legislature, 
the  country  has  been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of 
one  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of  this  State,  ex-President 
CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  and  it  is  fitting  that  the  Legisla 
ture  should  take  measures  for  giving  suitable  expression  to 
the  sentiments  of  respect  and  esteem  in  which  lie  was  held 
by  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth;  therefore, 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  a  joint  committee 
consisting  of  three  Senators  and  five  Members  of  Assembly,  be 
appointed  by  the  presiding  officers,  respectively,  of  the  two 
Houses,  with  instructions  to  perfect  and  supervise  arrange 
ments  for  such  a  memorial  service  of  the  Legislature  as  will 
properly  testify  of  the  personal  virtues  and  commemorate 
the  distinguished  public  services  of  the  deceased. 


Mr.  SPEAKER  put  the  question  whether  the 
House  would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it 
was  determined  in  the  affirmative. 

Ordered,  That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolu 
tion  to  the  Senate,  with  a  message  that  the 
Assembly  have  concurred  in  the  passage  of 
the  same. 

IN  ASSEMBLY: 

FEBRUARY   15,  1887. 

The  Senate  returned  the  concurrent  resolution 
relative  to  memorial  services  of  ex  President 
CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  with  a  message  that 
the  President  had  appointed  as  a  committee  on 
the  part  of  the  Senate,  Senators  SMITH,  WALKER 
and  PARKER. 

Whereupon,  Mr.  SPEAKER  announced  as  such 
committee  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly  :  Messrs. 
BURNS,  of .  \Vestchester ;  KIMBALL,  of  St.  Law 
rence  ;  EMERY,  of  Erie ;  IVES,  of  New  York ; 
FITCII,  of  Queens. 

Ordered,  That  the  Clerk  return  said  resolu 
tion  to  the  Senate,  with  a  message  that  they 
have  appointed  a  like  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  Assembly. 


IN  SENATE: 

APRIL   T,  1887. 

Mr.  SMITH,  from  the  special  committee  ap 
pointed  for  memorial  services  in  memory  of 
the  late  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  presented 
the  following  report  : 

To  the  Senate  : 

The  undersigned  committee,  appointed  to  arrange  for 
memorial  services  in  honor  of  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States,  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  respectfully  report 
that  with  a  like  committee  appointed  by  the  Assembly, 
they  have  arranged  for  such  services  to  be  held  in  the 
Assembly  Chamber  on  the  evening  of  April  20,  1887,  at 
which  time  the  Hon.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW,  of  New  York, 
and  the  Hon.  BENJAMIN  HARRIS  BREWSTER,  of  Philadelphia, 
late  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  are  expected  to 
deliver  eulogies  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

JOHN  E.  SMITH, 
EDWARD  C.   WALKER, 
AM  ASA  J.   PARKER,  JR., 

Dated  March  31,  1887.  Committee. 

IN  ASSEMBLY: 

APRIL   i,  1887. 

Mr.  BURNS,  from  the  committee  appointed  to 
arrange  for  memorial  services  in  honor  of  Hon. 
CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  submitted  the  fol 
lowing  report: 


To  the  Assembly  : 

The  undersigned  committee,  appointed  to  arrange  for  me 
morial  services  in  honor  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  respectfully  report  that, 
with  a  like  committee  appointed  by  the  Senate,  they  have 
arranged  for  such  services  to  be  held  in  the  Assembly 
Chamber,  on  the  evening  of  April  20,  1887,  at  which  time 
the  Hon.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW,  of  New  York,  and  the 
Hon.  BENJAMIN  HARRIS  BREWSTER,  of  Philadelphia,  late 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  are  expected  to 
deliver  eulogies  suitable  to  the  occasion. 
All  of  which  is  respectfully  reported. 

J.  IRVING  BURNS, 
WILLIAM  H.  KIMBALL, 
EDWARD  K.   EMERY, 
EUGENE  S.  IVES, 
JOSEPH  FITCH. 

Dated  March  31,  1887. 


The  exercises  in  honor  of  the  memory  of 
the  late  ex-President  CHESTER  ALAN 
ARTHUR,  were  held  in  the  Assembly  Cham 
ber,  and  were  attended  by  a  distinguished  au 
dience.  Most  of  the  members  of  the  Senate 
and  Assembly,  and  State  officers,  -with  their 
wives,  were  present.  Among  the  relatives  of 
the  ex-President  present  were  Chester  Alan 


Arthur,  Jr.,  Miss  Nellie  Arthur,  James  H.  Mas- 
ten,  of  Cohoes,  Arthur  H.  Masten,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  John  E.  McElroy,  Misses  Mary  and  Jes 
sie  and  Mr.  Win.  H.  McElroy.  There  were 
also  present  Marshal  McMichael,  of  Washing 
ton,  and  Surrogate  Rollins,  of  New  York.  The 
only  decorations  were  American  flags  draped 
behind  the  Speaker's  desk  around  a  portrait  of 
Mr.  ARTHUR.  Senator  SMITH  called  the 
meeting  to  order  and  introduced  Governor 
DAVID  B.  HILL  as  the  Chairman.  The  Gov 
ernor  was  received  with  hearty  applause,  and 
briefly  returned  thanks  for  the  honor  conferred. 
He  said  : 

For  the  partiality  of  the  joint  committee  in  my  selec 
tion  to  preside  upon  this  occasion,  I  tender  my  acknowl 
edgment.  It  is  peculiarly  appropriate  that  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  should  assemble  to  do  honor 
to  the  memory  of  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  whose  remains 
lie  buried  almost  within  sight  of  this  capital  city.  You 
have  selected  able  and  eloquent  orators  to  speak  upon  this 
occasion  of  the  life,  character  and  public  services  of  the 
distinguished  dead,  and  I  shall  not  trespass  upon  the  time 
which  belongs  to  them,  but  will  simply  content  myself  with 
discharging  the  duties  which  have  been  assigned  me.  The 
first  portion  of  the  exercises  will  begin  by  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  ECOH. 

After  prayer  by  the  Rev.  JAMLS  H.  ECOB, 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  the 

10 


Hon.  BENJAMIN  HARRIS  BREWSTER,  of  Philadel 
phia,  who  was  Attorney-General  in  President 
ARTHUR'S  cabinet,  spoke  briefly  but  elo 
quently,  of  the  character  and  services  of  the 
late  ex-president.  He  was  followed  by  the  Hon. 
CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW. 


11 


13  Y 


BENJAMIN  HARRIS  BREWSTER 


AND 


CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW. 


Address  of  Jcnjamtn  JJarvts  grewstev. 


GENTLEMEN  : 

We  have  been  called  by  high  authority  to 
pay  our  united  honors  to  the  memory  of  our 
departed  great.  Having  accepted  the  distinction 
bestowed  upon  me  I  will  attempt  to  fulfill  the 
duty  I  have  assumed.  Concerning  the  history 
and  early  career  of  General  Arthur  before  he 
became  the  President  I  will  not  speak.  Of  that 
the  gentleman  who  succeeds  me  will  fully  treat. 
Neither  do  I  propose  to  relate  the  many  public 
acts  and  events  that  were  done  and  sanctioned 
by  him  when  President.  A  detailed  historical 
narrative  will  not  answer  the  purpose  of  these 
solemnities.  A  few  simple  words  of  allusion  to 
those  acts  is  all  that  could  be  called  for.  I 
wish  to  bring  together  in  one  view  his  high 
qualities;  his  magnanimity;  his  gentleness,  and 
all  of  the  other  traits  of  his  nature  which  have 
commanded  our  love  and  honor. 

The  manly  grief  of  a  whole  nation  and  a 
great  people  that  was  raised  like  a  wild  wail 


IS 


of  terrified  sorrow  on  the  frightful  murder  of 
Garfield  was  followed  by  a  bewildered  sense  of 
public  distrust  and  doubt.  The  hot  partisan 
hostilities  prevailing-  before  that  calamity  were 
then  inflamed  by  fierce  and  harsh  misjudgments 
of  General  Arthur  and  all  who  were  associated 
with  him  in  close  personal  and  political  rela 
tions.  With  the  knowledge  of  these  hatreds 
before  him  and  keenly  conscious  of  the  intense 
and  painful  sense  of  public  anxiety  and  expec 
tation,  he  calmly  and  firmly  accepted  the  mur 
dered  President's  place.  He  took  the  oath  of 
office  and  at  once  issued  that  inaugural  to  the 
people  of  the  nation,  which  I  will  here  recite. 
By  its  solemn  tones  of  wisdom,  speaking  by 
lawful  authority,  it  dispelled  all  dread  of  com 
motion  and  subdued  all  anger. 

"  For  the  fourth  time  in  the  history  of  the 
republic  its  chief  magistrate  has  been  removed 
by  death.  All  hearts  are  filled  with  grief  and 
horror  at  the  hideous  crime  which  has  darkened 
our  land ;  and  the  memory  of  the  murdered 
President,  his  protracted  sufferings,  his  unyield 
ing  fortitude,  the  example  and  achievements  of 
his  life,  and  the  pathos  of  his  death,  will  for 
ever  illumine  the  pages  of  our  history.  For 
the  fourth  time  the  officer  elected  by  the  peo- 


16 


pie  and  ordained  by  the  Constitution  to  fill  a 
vacancy  so  created  is  called  to  assume  the 
executive  chair.  The  wisdom  of  our  fathers, 
foreseeing  even  the  most  dire  possibilities,  made 
sure  that  the  government  should  never  be  im 
periled  because  of  the  uncertainty  of  human 
life.  Men  may  die,  but  the  fabrics  of  our  free 
institutions  remain  unshaken.  No  higher  or 
more  assuring  proof  could  exist  of  the  strength 
and  permanence  of  popular  government  than 
the  fact  that,  though  the  chosen  of  the  people 
be  struck  down,  his  constitutional  successor  is 
peacefully  installed,  without  shock  or  strain  ex 
cept  the  sorrow  which  mourns  the  bereavement. 
All  the  noble  aspirations  of  my  lamented  prede 
cessor  which  found  expression  in  his  life,  the 
measures  devised  and  suggested  during  his  brief 
administration  to  correct  abuses,  to  enforce 
economy,  to  advance  prosperity,  and  promote 
the  general  welfare,  to  insure  domestic  security, 
and  maintain  friendly  and  honorable  relations 
with  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  be  garnered 
in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  it  will  be  my 
earnest  endeavor  to  profit  and  to  see  that  the 
nation  shall  profit  by  his  example  and  experi 
ence. 

"  Prosperity    blesses    our    country,    our    fiscal 


17 


policy  is  fixed  by  law,  is  well  grounded  and 
generally  approved.  No  threatening  issue  mars 
our  foreign  intercourse,  and  the  wisdom,  in 
tegrity  and  thrift  of  our  people  may  be  trusted 
to  continue  undisturbed  the  present  assured 
career  of  peace,  tranquillity  and  welfare.  The 
gloom  and  anxiety  which  have  enshrouded  the 
country  must  make  repose  especially  welcome 
now.  No  demand  for  speedy  "legislation  has 
been  heard ;  no  adequate  occasion  is  apparent 
for  an  unusual  session  of  Congress.  The  Con 
stitution  defines  the  functions  and  powers  of 
the  Executive  as  clearly  as  those  of  either  of 
the  other  two  departments  of  government,  and 
he  must  answer  for  the  just  exercise  of  the  dis 
cretion  it  permits  and  the  performance  of  the 
duties  it  imposes.  Summoned  to  these  high 
duties  and  responsibilities,  and  profoundly  con 
scious  of  their  magnitude  and  gravity,  I  assume 
the  trust  imposed  by  the  Constitution,  relying 
for  aid  on  Divine  guidance  and  the  virtue,  pa 
triotism,  and  intelligence  of  the  American  peo 
ple." 

Your  admiration  must  here  be  excited  by  the 
display  of  the  qualities  of  his  mind  in  this  his 
first  great  act  when  clothed  with  power. 

"  Mighty  is  the  storm,  but  mightier  the  calm  that  binds  the  storm." 


18 


Our  existence,  like  a  stream,  flows  smoothly 
on,  and  then  suddenly  dashes  itself  in  a  dark 
abyss  where  all  worldly  honor  and  power  are 
gone  forever,  swallowed  up  as  rivers  are  by  the 
ocean.  It  was  thus  that  Garfield,  in  the  first 
months  of  his  advancement,  was  swept  into  that 
eternal  gulf;  but  not  to  be  forgotten.  His 
horrid  murder  is  yet  remembered,  and  will  be 
remembered  with  a  sense  of  humility  and  sor 
row.  Penetrated  with  these  emotions  partaken 
by  a  whole  nation,  General  Arthur  took  up  the 
reins  of  public  authority.  From  the  hour  that 
he  felt  the  obligations  of  the  high  duties  thus 
forced  upon  him  he  seemed  by  a  sudden  and 
natural  aptitude  to  be  filled  with  power  to  exe 
cute  them.  From  that  moment  he  made  it  evi 
dent  to  all  that  he  knew  what  he  ought  to  do, 
what  he  wanted  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  He 
was  every  inch  a  President.  With  deliberation 
he  selected  his  Cabinet  —  a  body  of  gentlemen 
whose  acts  have  been  approved,  whose  official 
lives  with  him  and  with  each  other  were  one 
of  cordial  unity.  There  was  no  discord,  no 
contention  in  the  history  of  that  administration. 
The  firm,  just  and  peaceful  qualities  of  its 
chief  gave  tone  to  the  acts  and  utterances  of 
his  advisers. 


19 


From  the  first  between  him  and  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  nation  there  was  established 
a  sense  of  high  respect.  They  saw  at  once 
that  his  purpose  was  the  public  good,  not  the 
perpetuation  of  party  rule  or  personal  power. 
He  made  it  plain  to  them  that  his  only  law 
of  official  and  personal  life  was  to  think  the 
truth,  act  the  truth,  speak  the  truth.  By  his 
words  and  deeds  he  convinced  them  and  the 
whole  people  of  this  nation  that  he  believed 
in  and  lived  by  the  ever-to-be  remembered  pre 
amble  of  our  Constitution,  which  proclaims  and 
declares  that  the  true  purpose  of  our  govern 
ment  was  and  is  "to  establish  justice,  to  insure 
domestic  tranquillity,  to  provide  for  the  com 
mon  defense,  to  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  to  secure  the  benefit  of  liberty  to  us  and 
to  our  posterity  forever." 

When  his  convictions  would  not  permit  him 
to  assent  to  acts  presented  to  him  for  his 
approval  he  exercised  his  power  of  forbidding 
and  dissenting  in  mild  terms  of  wisdom  and 
admonition  that  were  received  by  Congress  in 
the  calm  and  friendly  spirit  with  which  they 
were  given.  He  roused  no  sense  of  personal 
or  political  hostility  or  public  discord.  Words 
of  objection  uttered  as  an  act  of  duty  were 


20 


accepted  with  deference  if  not  with  acquies 
cence.  He  was  trusted,  honored,  and  applauded 
by  them  and  by  all  men  from  the  time  he 
first  met  Congress  to  the  time  when  he  laid 
down  his  high  public  honors  to  pass  into  that 
private  domestic  life,  where  he  was  so  much 
loved  and  wherein  his  own  worth  exalted  him 
more  than  all  the  glories  of  his  wise  public 
career. 

For  the  social  and  personal  duties  of  this 
great  office  he  was  pre-eminently  fit.  I  must 
speak  of  his  presence  as  Tacitus  in  his  affec 
tionate  panegyric  describes  his  father-in-law,  the 
great  Agricola  :  "  His  figure  was  tall  and 
comely ;  in  his  countenance  there  was  nothing 
to  inspire  awe,  but  its  character  was  generous 
and  engaging.  You  would  have  readily  believed 
him  a  good  man  and  willingly  a  great  one." 
There  was  never  a  man  whose  gracious  ele 
gance  of  manners  better  conformed  to  the  refined 
usages  of  society.  The  public  and  the  public 
men  soon  saw  his  fitness  in  the  attractive  hos 
pitalities  of  the  executive  mansion  —  abundant, 
elegant,  refined.  The  people  were  proud  of 
the  chief  magistrate  who  could  receive  all  with 
cordial  dignity,  and  entertain  with  grace  and 
liberality  without  waste  or  glittering  pomp. 


21 


Thus  passed  his  great  public  life.  A  time 
never  to  be  forgotten,  an  era  of  public  repose 
and  of  public  and  private  prosperity,  to  which 
we  all  now  look  back  with  a  sense  of  approval, 
I  must  say  of  praise,  applauding  him  for  secur 
ing  it  out  of  discord  and  maintaining  it  by  his 
sense  of  justice  and  calm  forbearance. 

Because  of  his  modest  and  unpretending  career 
he  was  unknown  by  the  people.  At  first  they 
hesitated  to  accept  him  as  fit,  and  then  they 
were  surprised  when  they  found  how  suited  he 
was  for  every  exigency  of  his  position.  His 
mind  was  very  prompt.  He  was  resolute  upon 
all  principles  of  general  public  policy ;  but  where 
his  act  would  prejudice  persons  to  their  injury, 
such  was  the  benevolence  and  gentleness  of  his 
nature  that  he  would  hesitate  and  act  with 
reluctance.  But  when  he  did  act  he  acted 
firmly  always.  He  was  stern  with  himself  but 
liberal  and  forbearing  with  others.  He  had 
every  attribute  that  one  would  wish  to  see  in 
a  chief  executive.  He  never  spoke  of  party 
politics,  and  always  stood  by  what  was  right  and 
practically  proper.  He  was  not  visionary.  He 
understood  the  world  and  men  thoroughly. 
Their  littleness  did  not  sour  his  nature,  for 
he  was  full  of  generosity.  He  had  not  a  mean, 


22 


unmanly  element  in  his  character.  He  was 
heroic  but  not  ostentatious.  He  had  an  ex 
tended  experience  in  public  affairs  and  a  large 
knowledge  in  public  history.  He  had  various 
reading  in  every  direction,,  and  what  he  had 
read  he  remembered  with  elegant  taste  and  great 
accuracy. 

Beginning  life  in  a  frugal  way,  by  steady 
industry  he  advanced  his  means,  but  his  wishes 
as  to  that  were  moderate.  He  had  no  sordid 
thought  in  his  mind.  Money  to  him  was  but 
a  means  of  personal  independence  —  no  more. 
He  knew  how  a  man  may  "gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul."  And  he  lived 
up  to  that  conviction.  Thus  far  tfle  public  men 
of  this  country  have  all  been  of  moderate  means 
-  most  of  them  what  would  be  called  poor 
men.  That  is  the  glory  and  honor  of  the 
country.  The  plain,  moderate  people  who  or 
ganized  our  social  and  public  life  so  ordained 
it.  Our  great  offices  were  intended  to  be  great 
honors,  not  sinecures.  The  compensation  at 
tached  to  the  best  of  them  will  not  equal  that 
which  any  man  can  earn  who  is  fit  to  have 
them,  and  it  should  be  so. 

Until  of    late   there  have   been   very   few   men 
holding    high    public    honors   who    were    rich    or 


23 


even  more  than  comfortable.  The  people  dis 
trust  all  those  who,  being  poor,  follow  a  public 
career,  take  office  and  become  rich.  Such  rancid 
statesmen  are  objects  of  public  hatred  and  ever 
will  be.  This  country  is  ruled  by  two  classes 
of  workmen  —  the  mechanics  and  men  who  work 
with  their  hands  for  their  daily  bread,  and  the 
men  who  work  with  their  intellects  and  in  the 
great  professions.  No  such  men  can  ever  hope 
to  be  rich  and  possess  estates,  and  they  will 
forbid  the  advancement  of  the  sordid  —  those 
who  hold  office  to  use  it  for  gain.  When  they 
enter  upon  their  career  they,  in  effect,  take  a 
vow  of  poverty.  They  know  they  can  never 
hope  to  acquire  great  wealth.  At  the  best  they 
can  only  obtain  a  moderate  competency  suitable 
to  their  condition  in  life.  These  men  never  will 
tolerate  for  official  life  as  a  class  those  who 
love  money.  They  look  upon  all  such  as  pub 
lic  enemies.  As  I  have  said,  they  hate  them. 

Can  we  not  congratulate  ourselves  that  we 
have  come  of  such  a  lineage  of  simple,  honest 
men,  who  loved  God  and  not  lucre  ;  who  loved 
God  as  He  is  the  Father  of  natural  and  rational 
liberty  —  the  liberty  of  obedience  to  law  and 
subordination  to  natural  and  social  duty?  May 
we  not  exultingly  say  that  a  hundred  years  and 


more  of  such  national  life,  under  such  national 
principles,  has  brought  us  to  this  point  of  glory, 
the  peaceful  glory  of  a  prosperous,  plain  peo 
ple  ;  of  sixty  millions  who  sprang  from  the  few 
who  sought  refuge  here,  inspired  with  a  belief 
in  revelation  and  living  strictly  by  a  sense  of 
moral  duty,  who  erected  a  temple  of  human 
rights,  into  which  all  men  who  love  law  and 
obey  order  can  enter  and  find  happiness  and 
peace. 

Before  I  close  these  remarks  I  must  remind 
you  that  all  these  fine  qualities  of  his  character 
were  not  unconsecrated  by  religious  convictions. 
If  this  were  wanting  we  could  have  found  no 
consolation  in  our  sorrow.  His  excellence  of 
nature  would  have  been  but  a  shadow.  He  was 
trained  in  a  home  of  religious  teaching,  by  a 
father  who  taught  him  and  others  the  truths  of 
revealed  religion.  He  was  not  tainted  with  any 
philosophical  pretensions.  He  had  no  affinity 
with  the  hostile  opinions  of  unbelievers.  He 
was  blasted  with  no  such  intellectual  conceit. 
He  believed  that  Christianity  was  the  product  of 
Divine  revelation,  not  the  result  of  human  rea 
son.  That  philosophy  did  not  make  it  and 
could  not  destroy  it.  That  it  dwelt  in  realms 
of  thought  and  understanding,  far  above  the 


region  of  the  philosophy  of  schools.  He  thought 
that  "  to  reduce  Christianity  to  philosophy  would 
be  to  strip  it  of  the  future  and  to  strike  it 
dead."  That  there  is  one  science  which  is  reli 
gious  and  another  which  is  not,  and  that  is 
impious  science.  By  these  convictions  he  lived 
and  died. 

Having  thus  recounted  all  that  my  disturbed 
and  unhappy  mind  will  permit  me  to  express, 
overcome  as  I  am,  standing  in  the  presence  of 
those  memories  which  endeared  him  to  me,  I 
feel  I  can  say  no  more.  My  hand  trembles  as 
I  write,  and  my  mind  refuses  to  express  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  with  which  it  is  now 
crowded.  My  heart  is  full  of  sorrow.  My 
eyes  are  filled  with  tears.  No  sooner  had  he 
finished  his  great  work  than  he  was  hurried  to 
the  grave.  How  this  teaches  us  our  nothing 
ness  and  insignificance.  Here  he  was  exalted 
and  honored  above  all  men.  And  there  he  lies 
subdued  by  the  mysterious  forces  of  nature  and 
doomed  by  the  very  law  of  our  existence  to 
fall,  as  it  were,  a  victim  for  our  warning.  If 
we  needed  such  terrors  to  wean  us  from  our 
devotion  to  the  world  and  its  crlories  this  calam- 

O 

ity  which  we  now  consider  should  be  suffi 
ciently  appalling. 


of  dxaunceij  gfc.  gepexu. 


GENTLEMEN    OF   THE    SENATE    AND  ASSEMBLY   OF 
THE    STATE    OF    NEW  YORK  : 

The  twenty-first  President  of  the  United  States 
was  the  third  from  the  State  of  New  York  who 
had  filled  that  high  office.  The  administration 
and  personal  career  of  each  of  them  form  marked 
features  of  our  national  history.  The  conditions 
which  prepared  them  for  public  duty  were  strik 
ingly  alike.  Each  was  the  sole  architect  of  his 
own  fortunes  and  without  the  aid  of  family  or 
wealth.  They  were  of  the  type  of  most  of  the 
men  who  have  always  controlled  parties  and 
managed  the  government.  Receiving  in  their 
youth  the  training  and  influence  of  Christian 
homes,  starting  in  life  with  no  other  endow 
ment  than  health,  character,  courage  and  hon 
orable  ambition,  they  became  leaders  and  rulers 
in  their  generations.  The  historian  of  the  future 
will  fill  most  of  his  pages,  devoted  to  our  first 
century,  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  slave 
power.  In  that  story  the  parts  of  Martin  Van 
Buren,  Millard  Fillmore  and  Chester  A.  Arthur 


27 


will  be  of  dramatic  interest.  The  revolt  of  Van 
Buren  in  1848  was  the  first  organized  effort  for 
freedom  which  had  strength  or  votes.  It  assailed 
slavery  in  its  strongest  intrenchment,  its  hold 
upon  the  old  parties. 

In  paving  the  way  for  their  dissolution  it 
opened  the  road  for  the  union  of  men,  hitherto 
arrayed  against  each  other  in  hostile  camps, 
upon  this  vital  issue.  With  Van  Buren  as  its 
leader,  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  crystallized 
into  a  powerful  and  aggressive  organization.  It 
broke  up  associations  which  had  existed  since 
the  formation  of  the  government,  alarmed  and 
infuriated  the  adherents  of  slavery  and  prepared 
the  way  for  the  inevitable  conflict.  Millard  Fill- 
more  sought  to  stay  the  storm  by  compromise, 
but  when  he  signed  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
the  storm  became  a  cyclone.  The  enforcement 
of  the  law  brought  the  horrors  of  slavery  to 
every  door.  It  aroused  the  old  fire  which  had 
charged  with  Cromwell  on  the  field  and  ex 
pounded  liberty  through  Mansfield  on  the 
bench.  It  united  the  North  in  a  solemn  deter 
mination  to  save  the  country  and  free  the 
Constitution  from  the  dangers  and  disgrace  of 
the  system.  It  consolidated  the  South  for  a 
struggle  to  the  death  for  its  preservation.  The 


28 


years  following  of  agitation  and  preparation, 
the  appeal  to  arms,  the  civil  war  with  its 
frightful  sacrifices  of  blood  and  treasure,  the 
triumph  of  nationality  and  liberty,  the  recon 
struction  of  the  States  upon  the  broadest  and 
most  generous  principles,  the  citizenship  of  the 
freedman,  the  reconciliation  of  the  rebel,  gave 
first  to  President  Arthur  the  glorious  oppor 
tunity  and  privilege  of  constructing  a  message 
which  most  significantly  marked  the  happy  end 
of  a  century  of  strife,  by  its  failure  to  allude 
to  its  causes,  remedies  ot  results.  Thus  the  first 
of  the  New  York  Presidents  gave  to  anti-slavery 
a  national  party,  the  second,  by  an  effort  to 
compromise  with  evil,  brought  on  the  battle 
which  ended  in  its  destruction,  and  the  admin 
istration  of  the  third  saw  the  regenerated  and 
reunited  Republic  rising  upon  its  ruins. 

From  his  father  he  inherited  that  sturdy, 
Scotch-Irish  blood,  which  for  centuries  has  shown 
conspicuous  aptitude  for  government  and  leader 
ship,  and  he  was  early  taught  that  with  liberal 
education  backed  by  the  principles  in  which  he 
was  grounded,  all  gates  could  be  unbarred  and 
all  avenues  were  open  to  him.  With  these 
motives  work  was  pleasure,  and  difficulties  were 
delights,  in  the  fresh  strength  and  confidence 
with  which  they  were  successively  overcome. 


29 


The  accepted  hardships  of  teaching  the  country 
school  and  boarding  around,  the  distractions  of 
earning  a  living  while  fighting  for  a  degree, 
toughen  and  develop  the  elastic  fibres  of  Amer 
ican  character.  When  Arthur  had  won  the  max 
imum  honors  of  his  college  and  completing  his 
law  studies  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  was 
already  a  victor  in  the  battle  of  life,  and  knew 
there  were  no  dangers  before  him  so  great  as 
those  he  had  already  overcome.  The  profession 
did  not  receive  in  him  its  frequent  addition  of 
a  raw  recruit  whose  steps  have  been  so  ten 
derly  watched  and  taken  for  him,  that  he  stands 
with  difficulty  and  moves  with  timidity,  but  he 
had  tested  his  powers  and  felt  the  confidence 
of  a  veteran. 

It  was  natural  that  with  his  origin  and  train 
ing  General  Arthur  should  at  once  have  en 
rolled  on  the  side  of  anti-slavery.  It  was  for 
tunate  for  his  future  that  the  opportunity  came 
early  to  participate  in  a  legal  contest  which 
was  one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  that  lonyr 

o 

struggle.  Jonathan  Lemmon,  a  Virginia  slave 
holder,  undertook  to  remove  to  Texas  by  way 
of  New  York,  carrying  his  slaves  with  him. 
The  court  was  asked  to  discharge  them  on  the 

£> 

ground  that  no  man  could  be  deprived  of  his 
liberty  in  this  State  without  the  authority  of 


the  law.  Virginia,  through  her  Governor  and 
Legislature,  took  up  the  cause  of  the  slave 
holder,  and  the  Legislature  of  our  State  re 
sponded  by  employing  counsel  for  the  slaves. 
The  most  eminent  men  at  the  bar  appeared 
on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  The  whole  nation 
became  interested  in  the  conflict  and  mutterings 
of  war  were  heard.  Barriers  were  to  be  set 
to  the  encroachments  of  slavery,  or  it  was  to  be 
virtually  established  everywhere.  Political  pas 
sions,  commercial  timidity,  moral  convictions, 
swayed  and  agitated  the  press  and  the  courts. 
Behind  the  States  rights  and  vested  property 
arguments  of  the  lawyers  for  Virginia  were  the 
threats  of  a  dissolution  of  the  union  which  had 
so  often  frightened  northern  constituencies,  and 
cowed  northern  statesmen.  But  the  advocates 
of  liberty  with  unequaled  boldness  and  ability 
pressed  home  the  eternal  principles  of  freedom 
embodied  in  the  charters  of  the  Fatherland, 
and  embedded  in  our  American  Declarations 
and  Constitutions,  and  our  highest  tribunal 
reiterated  with  phrase  altered  for  us,  Mans 
field's  immortal  judgment,  "a  slave  cannot 
breathe  the  air  of  England.  "  The  same  decis 
ion  had  been  eloquently  and  vigorously  rendered 
by  William  H.  Seward,  while  Governor  of  our 


31 


State  years  before,  but  it  received  little  atten 
tion  or  approval.  Then,  as  often  afterward, 
this  great  statesman  was  nearly  a  generation 
in  advance  of  his  cotemporaries  on  the  most 
important  of  questions.  While  this  case  settled 
the  status  of  the  slave  brought  within  our 
jurisdiction,  the  rights  of  free  colored  people  in 
our  midst  were  violated  daily.  General  Arthur 
championed  the  cause  of  a  poor  woman,  who 
because  of  her  race  was  refused  a  seat  and 
ejected  from  a  car,  and  in  the  success  of  the 
litigation,  principles  which  after  the  civil  war 
could  only  receive  recognition  and  obedience 
by  congressional  enactment  and  constitutional 
amendment  became  parts  of  the  fixed  jurispru 
dence  of  the  State.  He  was  never  a  brilliant 
advocate.  He  did  not  possess  those  rare  quali 
ties  which  win  verdicts  from  unwilling  juries 
and  force  decisions  from  hostile  courts,  but  he 
early  took  and  held  the  important  place  of 
wise  and  safe  counsel  and  adviser.  Tact,  sense, 
and  quick  appreciation  of  the  right  were  quali 
ties  he  possessed  in  such  high  degree,  that 
they  were  the  elements  of  his  success,  not 
only  at  the  bar,  but  in  the  administration  of 
public  trusts. 

This   so   impressed  Governor   Morgan   that  he 


32 


assigned  him  to  the  most  important  position 
of  recruiting  and  equipping  New  York's  quota 
in  the  President's  call  for  troops.  The  situa 
tion  was  of  unparalleled  novelty  and  danger. 
Generations  of  peace  and  prosperity  had  left 
the  State  with  a  holiday  military  system  and 
ignorant  of  war.  The  problems  of  camps, 
depots,  supplies,  armaments,  transportation, 
which  require  a  liberal  education  to  solve,  were 
suddenly  precipitated  upon  men  unprepared  and 
untrained.  To  collect,  feed,  uniform,  arm  and 
forward  to  the  front  tens  of  thousands  of  raw 
recruits,  required  great  ability  and  unimpeach 
able  integrity. 

An  army  larger  than  the  combined  Conti 
nental  forces  of  the  Revolution  was  marching 
to  Washington  from  New  York  by  regiments 
as  completely  equipped  as  they  were  hastily 
gathered.  The  pressing  needs  of  the  govern 
ment  on  the  one  hand  and  the  greed  of  the 
contractor  on  the  other  were  spurs  and  perils 
of  the  organizing  officer.  It  is  one  of  the 
proudest  records  of  General  Arthur's  life  that 
he  surrendered  his  position  to  a  successor  of 
hostile  political  faith,  to  receive  from  him  the 
highest  compliments  for  his  work  and  to  return 
to  his  profession  a  poorer  man  than  when 
he  assumed  office. 


33 


Activity  in  public  affairs  and  strong  political 
bias  were  inevitable  in  a  man  of  such  ex 
perience  and  characteristics.  The  fate  of 
empire  depended  upon  the  issue  of  the  tre 
mendous  questions  which  agitated  the  country 
during  these  years.  Party  spirit  ran  high  and 
parties  were  organized  and  officered  like  con 
tending  armies.  A  great  party  must  have 
leadership  and  discipline.  Revolts  become  nec 
essary  at  times  against  corrupt,  incompetent 
or  selfish  leadership,  but  constitutional  govern 
ment  cannot  be  successfully  conducted  by  po 
litical  guerrillas  and  bushwhackers. 

If  the  common  judgment  of  mankind  is  the 
voice  of  God,  the  controlling  sentiment  of 
great  parties  are  their  best  policies.  But  that 
sentiment  must  needs  be  voiced  and  receive 
expression  in  the  practical  measures  of  gov 
ernment  by  commanding  authority.  There  have 
been  in  our  history  few  party  leaders  of  the 
first  class  who  possessed  those  wonderful  gifts 
which  secure  the  confidence  and  sway  the  ac 
tions  of  vast  masses  of  men.  But  there  have 
been  many  who  could  combine  and  consolidate 
the  organization  for  work  in  the  field  when 
the  canvass  was  critical.  Among  these,  Gen 
eral  Arthur  held  a  high  rank,  and  the  length 
and  vigor  of  his  rule  and  the  loyal  devotion 


34 


of  his  friends  were  lasting  tributes  to  his 
merits.  It  was  the  natural  result  that  the 
President  should  require  him  to  hold  a  rep 
resentative  position.  The  Collectorship  of  the 
Port  of  New  York  was  at  that  time  the  key 
to  the  political  fortunes  of  tlje  Administration. 
The  Collector  was,  in  a  sense,  a  Cabinet 
officer,  the  dispenser  of  party  patronage,  and 
the  business  agent  of  the  government  at  the 
commercial  capital  of  the  nation.  The  peculiar 
difficulties  of  the  place  had  permanently  con 
signed  to  private  life  every  man  who  ever 
held  ft.  To  make  mistakes,  to  provoke  cal 
umny,  to  create  enmities,  were  the  peculiar 
opportunities  of  the  office.  That  Arthur  should 
have  been  unanimously  confirmed  for  a  second 
term  and  died  an  ex-President  of  the  United 
States  are  the  best  evidences  of  his  integrity, 
wisdom  and  tact. 

A  long  lease  of  power  creates  not  only  a 
desire  for  change  but  develops  internal  antag 
onisms.  Both  these  dangers  were  very  threat 
ening  in  the  campaign  of  1880.  The  first 
was  a  present  and  increasing  force,  and  suc 
cess  was  impossible  unless  all  discordant  ele 
ments  were  harmonized.  Garfield  and  Arthur 
as  the  representatives  of  the  hostile  factions 
were  singularly  fitted  to  accomplish  this  re- 


33 


suit.  Their  selection  contributed  enormously 
to  the  triumph  of  their  cause.  Garfield  the 
boy  on  the  tow-path,  the  university  alumnus, 
the  learned  professor,  the  college  president, 
the  gallant  soldier,  the  congressional  leader, 
the  United  States  Senator  and  brilliant  ora 
tor,  enthusiastic,  generous  and  impulsive,  pre 
sented  a  most  picturesque,  captivating  and 
dashing  candidate,  while  Arthur's  cool  judg 
ment,  unequaled  skill,  commanding  presence, 
and  rare  gifts  for  conciliating  and  converting 
revengeful  partisans  into  loyal  and  eager  fol 
lowers,  brought  behind  his  chief  a  united  and 
determined  party.  But  no  sooner  was  the 
victory  won  than  the  internal  strife  was  re 
newed  with  intensified  bitterness.  In  demon 
strating  the  evils  and  power  of  patronage,  it 
gave  effective  impetus  to  the  triumph  of  civil 
service  reform.  The  struggle  was  transferred 
from  Washington  to  Albany,  and  this  Capitol 
became  the  field  for  the  most  envenomed  and 
passionate  contest  of  the  century.  The  whole 
Republic  was  involved  in  the  conflict.  Upon 
it  depended  the  control  of  the  government. 
Vice-President  Arthur,  whose  loyalty  to  his 
friends  was  the  central  motive  of  his  life, 
deemed  it  his  duty  to  come  here  and  take 
command  of  the  forces  on  the  one  side,  while 


36 


a  share  in  the  conduct  of  the  other  devolved 
upon  me.  The  murderous  fury  of  the  fray 
dissolved  friendships  of  a  life-time,  but  I  hail 
with  profound  gratification  the  fact  that  ours 
survived  it.  The  bullet  of  Guiteau  struck 
down  President  Garfield,  and  in  the  whirlwind 
of  resentment  and  revenge,  General  Arthur, 
by  the  very  necessity  of  his  position,  became 
the  object  of  most  causeless  and  cruel  suspic 
ion  and  assault.  But  in  that  hour  the  real 
greatness  of  his  character  became  resplendent. 
The  politician  gave  place  to  the  statesman, 
and  the  partisan  to  the  President.  As  a  spent 
ball  having  missed  its  mark  is  buried  in  the 

o 

heart  of  a  friend,  so  the  dying  passions  of 
the  civil  war  by  one  mad  and  isolated  crime 
murdered  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  one  man  in 
the  country  who  had  the  power  and  disposi 
tion  to  do  at  once,  for  those  whom  the 
assassin  proposed  to  help  and  avenge,  all 
that  was  afterward  accomplished  through 
many  years  of  probation,  humiliation  and  suf 
fering.  But  in  the  death  of  Garfield,  the 
spoils  system,  which  dominated  parties,  made 
and  unmade  statesmen,  shaped  the  policy  of 
the  government  and  threatened  the  integrity 
and  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  received  a 


37 


fatal  blow.  It  aroused  the  country  to  the 
perils  both  to  the  proper  conduct  of  the  busi 
ness  of  the  government  and  to  the  govern 
ment  itself. 

A  morbid  sentiment  that  the  civil  service 
was  a  Pretorian  Guard  to  be  recruited  from 
the  followers  of  the  successful  chief  without 
regard  to  the  fitness  of  the  officer  removed 
or  the  qualifications  of  the  man  who  took 
his  place,  created  the  moral  monstrosity  - 
Guiteau.  The  spoils  system  murdered  Gar- 
field,  and  the  murder  of  Garfield  shattered 
the  system.  The  months  during  which  Presi 
dent  Garfield  lay  dying  by  the  sea  at  El- 
beron  were  phenomenal  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  sufferer  became  a  member  of 
every  household  in  the  land,  and  in  all  coun 
tries,  tongues  and  creeds,  sympathetic  prayers 
ascended  to  God  for  the  recovery  of  the  great 
ruler  beyond  the  ocean  who  had  sprung  from 
the  common  people  and  illustrated  the  possi 
bilities  for  the  individual  where  all  men  are 
equal  before  the  law.  While  he  who  was  to 
succeed  him  if  he  died,  though  in  no  place 
and  in  no  sense  charged  with  sympathy  with 
the  assassination,  yet  was  made  to  feel  a 
national  resentment  and  distrust  which  threat 
ened  his  usefulness  and  even  his  life.  Whether 


38 


he  spoke  or  was  silent  he  was  alike  misrep 
resented  and  misunderstood.  None  but  those 
most  intimate  with  him  can  ever  know  the 
agony  he  suffered  during  those  frightful  days, 
and  how  earnestly  he  prayed  that,  in  the  re 
turning  health  of  his  chief,  he  might  be  spared 
the  fearful  trial  of  his  death.  When  the  end 
came  for  General  Garfield,  Arthur  entered  the 
White  House  as  he  had  taken  the  oath  of 
office  ~-  alone.  A  weaker  man  would  have  suc 
cumbed,  a  narrower  one  have  seized  upon  the 
patronage  and  endeavored  to  build  up  his 
power  by  strengthening  his  faction.  But  the 
lineage  and  training  of  Arthur  stood  in  this 
solemn  and  critical  hour  for  patriotism  and 
manliness.  Friends,  co-workers  within  the  old 
lines,  and  associates  under  the  old  conditions 
looking  for  opportunities,  for  recognition  or 
for  revenge,  retired  chastened  and  enlightened 
from  the  presence  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  man  had  not  changed.  He  was  the 
same  genial,  companionable  and  loving  gentle 
man,  but  in  the  performance  of  public  duty 
he  rose  to  the  full  measure  and  dignity  of 
his  great  office.  It  was  the  process  which 
has  been  witnessed  before  among  our  states 
men,  where  under  the  pressure  of  sudden  and 

39 


grave  responsibilities  the  evolution  of  character 
and  capacity  which  would,  under  ordinary  con 
ditions,  have  taken  a  life-time  or,  perhaps, 
never  matured,  culminate  in  a  moment.  The 
most  remarkable  example  in  our  history  was 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  in  a  lesser  degree, 
Edwin  M.  Stanton  and  Salmon  P.  Chase.  The 
cold  and  hesitating  constituency  which  expected 
the  President  to  use  for  the  personal  and 
selfish  ends  and  ambitions  of  himself  and 
friends  the  power  so  suddenly  and  unexpect 
edly  acquired,  saw  the  chief  magistrate  of  a 
mighty  nation  so  performing  his  duties,  so  ad 
ministering  his  trust,  so  impartially  acting  for 
the  public  interests  and  the  public  welfare, 
that  he  entered  upon  the  second  year  of  his 
term  in  the  full  possession  of  the  confidence 
of  his  countrymen. 

The  grateful  task  of  review  and  portrayal 
of  the  history  of  his  administration  has  been 
most  worthily  assigned  in  these  ceremonies  to 
the  learned,  eloquent  and  eminent  lawyer  who 
was  the  Attorney-General  in  his  Cabinet. 

President  Arthur  will  be  distinguished  both 
for  what  he  did  and  what  he  refrained  from 
doing.  The  strain  and  intensity  of  public  feel 
ing,  the  vehemence  of  the  angry  and  vindic 
tive  passions  of  the  time,  demanded  the  rarest 


of  negative  as  well  as  positive  qualities.  The 
calm  and  even  course  of  government  allayed 
excitement  and  appealed  to  the  better  judg 
ment  of  the  people.  But  though  not  aggres 
sive  or  brilliant,  his  administration  was  sensible 
and  strong  and  admirably  adjusted  to  the  con 
ditions  which  created  and  attended  it.  He 
spoke  vigorously  for  the  reform  and  improve 
ment  of  the  civil  service,  and  when  Congress, 
acting  upon  his  suggestions,  enacted  the  law, 
he  constructed  the  machinery  for  its  execu 
tions  which  has  since  accomplished  most  sat 
isfactory,  though  as  yet  incomplete  results.  On 
questions  of  currency  and  finance  he  met  the 
needs  of  public  and  private  credit,  and  the 
best  commercial  sentiment  of  the  country.  He 
knew  the  necessity  for  efficient  coast  defenses 
and  a  navy  equal  to  the  requirements  of  the 
age.  He  keenly  felt  the  weakness  of  our  mer 
chant  marine  and  the  total  destruction  of  the 
proud  position  we  had  formerly  held  among 
the  maritime  nations  of  the  world,  and  did 
what  he  could  to  move  Congress  to  wise  and 
patriotic  legislation.  When  the  measures  of  his 
period  are  crowded  into  oblivion  by  the  rapid 
and  ceaseless  tread  of  the  events  of  each  hour, 
in  our  phenomenal  development  and  its  needs, 
two  acts  of  dramatic  picturesqueness  and  his- 


41 


torical  significance  will  furnish  themes  for  the 
orator  and  illustrations  for  the  academic  stage 
of  the  future. 

The  centennial  of  the  final  surrender  at 
Yorktown  which  marked  the  end  of  the  Revo 
lutionary  war  and  the  close  of  English  rule 
was  celebrated  with  fitting  splendor  and  ap 
propriateness.  The  presence  of  the  descend 
ants  of  Lafayette  and  Steuben  as  the  guests 
of  the  nation  typified  the  undying  gratitude 
of  the  Republic  for  the  services  rendered  by 
the  great  French  patriot  and  his  countrymen, 
and  by  the  famous  German  soldier.  But  the 
President,  with  characteristic  grace  and  tact, 
determined  that  the  ceremonies  should  also 
officially  record  that  all  feelings  of  hostility 
against  the  mother  country  were  dead.  He 
directed  that  the  celebration  should  be  closed 
by  a  salute  fired  in  honor  of  the  British  flag, 
as  he  felicitously  said,  "  in  recognition  of  the 
friendly  relations  so  long  and  so  happily  sub 
sisting  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  in  the  trust  and  confidence  of  peace 
and  good-will  between  the  two  countries  for 
all  the  centuries  to  come,"  and  then  he  added 
the  sentence  which  might  be  America's  message 
of  congratulation  at  the  Queen's  Jubilee  this 
summer,  "  and  especially  as  a  mark  of  the  pro- 


found  respect  entertained  by  the  American 
people  for  the  illustrious  sovereign  and  gra 
cious  lady  who  sits  upon  the  British  throne." 

General  Grant  was  dying  of  a  lingering  and 
most  painful  disease.  Manifold  and  extraordi 
nary  misfortunes  had  befallen  him  and  his  last 
days  were  clouded  with  great  mental  distress 
and  doubt.  The  old  soldier  was  most  anxious 
to  know  that  his  countrymen  freed  him,  and 
would  hold  his  memory  sacred  from  all  blame 
in  connection  with  the  men  and  troubles  with 
which  he  had  become  so  strangely,  innocently 
and  most  inextricably  involved.  Whether  his 
life  should  suddenly  go  out  in  the  darkness, 
or  be  spared  for  an  indefinite  period  was 
largely  dependent  upon  some  act  which  would 
convey  to  him  the  confidence  and  admiration 
of  the  people.  Again  were  illustrated  both 
General  Arthur's  strong  friendship  and  his  always 
quick  and  correct  appreciation  of  the  expression 
of  popular  sentiment.  By  timely  suggestions 
to  Congress,  speedily  acted  upon,  he  happily 
closed  the  administration  by  affixing  as  its  last 
official  act  his  signature  to  the  nomination, 
which  was  confirmed  with  tumultuous  cheers, 
creating  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  General  of  the  Army. 
The  news  flashed  to  the  hero,  with  affectionate 
message,  rescued  him  from  the  grave,  to  enjoy 


43 


for  months  the  blissful  assurance  that  comrades 
and  countrymen  had  taken  his  character  and 
career  into  their  tender  and  watchful  keeping. 
There  has  rarely  been  in  the  history  of  pop 
ular  governments  so  great  a  contrast  as  in  the 
public  appreciation  of  General  Arthur  at  the 
time  of  his  inauguration  and  when  he  retired 
from  office.  The  President,  of  whom  little  was 
expected  and  much  feared,  returned  to  private 
life,  enjoying  in  a  larger  degree  than  most  of 
his  predecessors  the  profound  respect  and  warm 
regard  of  the  people  without  distinction  of  party. 
He  was  a  warm-hearted,  social,  pleasure-loving 
man,  but  capable  of  the  greatest  industry,  endur 
ance  and  courage.  He  dearly  loved  to  gratify 
his  friends,  but  if  he  thought  the  public  inter 
ests  so  required  no  one  could  more  firmly  resist 
their  desires  or  their  importunities.  By  his 
dignity  and  urbanity,  and  his  rich  possession 
of  the  graces  which  attract  and  adorn  in  social 
intercourse,  he  gave  a  new  charm  to  the  hos 
pitalities  of  the  White  House.  Though  the 
son  of  a  country  clergyman  and  unfamiliar  with 
courts,  in  him  the  veteran  courtiers  of  the  old 
world  found  all  the  culture,  the  proper  obser 
vance  of  ceremonial  proprieties  and  the  indica 
tions  of  power  which  surround  Emperors  and 
Kings  of  ancient  lineage  and  hereditary  posi- 


•44 


tions,  but  tempered  by  a  most  attractive  repub 
lican  simplicity.  He  said  to  me  early  in  his 
administration,  "  My  sole  ambition  is  to  enjoy 
the  confidence  of  my  countrymen."  Toward 
this  noble  ideal  he  strove  with  undeviating 
purpose.  Even  in  the  mistakes  he  made  could 
be  seen  his  manly  struggle  to  be  right.  Once 
again  in  private  station  and  resuming  the  prac 
tice  of  his  profession,  he  moved  among  his 
fellow  citizens  receiving  the  homage  and  recog 
nition  which  came  of  their  pride  in  the  way 
he  had  borne  the  honors  and  administered  the 
duties  of  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  Republic. 
In  his  last  illness  he  had  the  sympathy  and 
prayers  of  the  nation,  and  the  grand  gathering 
of  the  men  most  distinguished  in  every  depart 
ment  of  our  public  and  private  life,  who  sor 
rowfully  bore  him  to  the  grave,  was  the  solemn 
tribute  of  the  whole  people  through  their  repre 
sentatives  to  his  worth  as  a  man  and  his 
eminence  as  a  public  servant. 


£Crgi$tative 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION 


SENATB    AND    ASSEMBLY, 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK: 
IN  SENATE, 

April  28,  1887. 

Mr.   SMITH  offered  the  following: 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  there  be  printed 
under  the  direction  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly, 
three  thousand  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature, 
and  the  memorial  orations  of  the  Hon.  BENJAMIN  H.  BREW- 
STER  and  the  Hon.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW,  on  the  death  of 
Ex-President  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  for  the  use  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Legislature,  five  hundred  copies  each  for  the  use 
of  Messrs.  BREWSTER  and  DEPEW,  five  hundred  copies  for 
the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  five  hundred  copies  for  the 
officers  and  reporters  of  the  Legislature. 

STATE  OK  NEW  YORK:  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK: 

IN  SENATE,             i  IN  ASSEMBLY,            ) 

April  28,  1887.  \"  May  n,  1887.  f 

The    foregoing    resolution   was    duly  The    foregoing    resolution   was    duly 

passed  concurred  in. 

Bv  order  of  the  Senate.  Bv  order  of  the  Assembly. 

JOHN  W.  VROOMAN,  CHAS.  A.  CHICKERING, 

Clerk.  Clerk. 


46 


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